Shehu Sani, the former Senator representing Kaduna Central has said that the conflicting Appeal Court report on the Kano State gubernatorial election should be treated with utmost care as democracy cannot survive when political interest overrides moral and constitutional obligation.
“Kano; the Court of Appeal CTC judgment in circulation affirmed the victory of the serving Governor. The Kano matter is a grenade and the pin must be handled with the utmost care. Our democracy cannot survive when political interests override our moral and constitutional obligations to uphold the cause and the tenets of justice.”
He said this after the Certified True Copy of the Court of Appeal judgment on the Kano State governorship election seen on Tuesday upheld the decision of the Tribunal and also certified that Governor Abba Yusuf was the winner of the March 18 election.
In a press conference on Tuesday night, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Haruna Isa-Dederi, stated that the Court of Appeal set aside the judgment of the Kano Election Petition Tribunal for lacking in merit.
“The evidence contained on page 67 of the copy of the Appeal Court judgment released on Tuesday and signed by Registrar, Jameel Ibrahim Umar, the appellate court upheld the victory of Abba Kabiru Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party as duly elected Governor of Kano,” he said.
Meanwhile, while the the written evidence on page 67 of the CTC vindicated Yusuf as a legitimate governor of the state, the oral evidence affirmed the candidate of the APC, Dr. Nasir Gawuna as the winner of the election.
Justice Moore Adumein, on November 17 read, “I will conclude by stating that the live issues in this appeal are hereby resolved in favour of the first respondent (APC) and against the appellant.”
“Therefore, I find no merit in this appeal which is liable to be and is hereby dismissed.
The judgment of the tribunal in Petition No.: EPT/KN/GOV/01/2023 between: AL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS (APC) v. INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION & 2 ORS. delivered on the 20th day of September, 2023 is hereby set aside.
“The sum of N1,000,000.00 (one million naira only) is hereby awarded as costs in favour of the appellant and against the 1st respondent.”
However, both parties have been advised to seek interpretation at the apex court while the Court of Appeal has asked lawyers to return the CTC to effect a correction in the judgment.
